Section: Kuwait
Pope tells ‘haggard’ Europe to lead again
STRASBOURG: Pope Francis launched a blistering attack yesterday on a “haggard” Europe, urging it to reclaim global leadership after years of crisis and to take in migrants before the Mediterranean becomes a “vast cemetery”. During a lightning visit to Strasbourg, the Argentine pontiff used speeches to the European Parliament and Council of Europe...
Russia ‘has 7,500′ troops in Ukraine – 4 Ukrainian soldiers killed in the east
KIEV: Ukraine said Russia has thousands of troops in its conflict-ravaged east and vowed to boost its own military capacity, ratcheting up tensions yesterday after Kiev’s new coalition pledged to make joining NATO a priority. The latest declarations from Ukraine’s defense minister threaten to provoke fresh Russian anger as the...
German FM jets to Kiev, Moscow to revive Ukraine peace plan
KIEV: Germany’s foreign minister jetted to Kiev and Moscow yesterday in a bid to revive a failing peace plan in east Ukraine, as deadly fighting pushed EU-Russia relations to breaking point. Berlin’s top diplomat Frank-Walter Steinmeier was set to hold key talks with Ukraine’s pro-Western leaders before heading to Moscow for a...
In tit-for-tat, Russia expels several Polish diplomats – EU set for new Ukraine sanctions
Polish police guard the Russian Embassy in Warsaw MOSCOW: Russia expelled several Polish diplomats for spying yesterday, deepening the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War as the EU eyed fresh sanctions against Moscow over the violence in Ukraine. Fresh bloodshed in Ukraine between pro-Kremlin rebels and Kiev’s forces added to the...
Rebuked Putin to cut short G20 summit
BRISBANE: Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to cut short his attendance at a G20 summit in Australia, an official said yesterday, after he faced Western scorn and scepticism over Ukraine despite venturing to paper over Europe’s deepest chill in relations since the Cold War. The abrupt decision threatens to upend the annual...
‘Most powerful’ Putin takes on West at the Asia-Pacific summits
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin is heading into showdown talks with Australia’s leader as part of what is expected to be his toughest foreign trip since the start of the standoff between Russia and the West over Ukraine. But Putin appears well prepared to take the heat in Beijing later and Brisbane this weekend, enjoying the Forbes...
Germany cheers 25 years since Berlin Wall’s fall
(R to L) German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Berlin’s Mayor Klaus Wowereit, former Hungarian Prime Minister Miklos Nemeth and German Minister of State for Culture Monika Gruetters hold roses as they attend a commemoration to mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall at the Berlin Wall Memorial in the Bernauer Strasse in Berlin...
Ukraine creates de facto border around rebel zone
KIEV: Ukraine yesterday announced passport controls around areas held by pro- Russian separatists in the latest step toward what resembles the breakup of the ex-Soviet republic, as heavy artillery fire erupted in Donetsk. Ukraine’s border guards service said anyone crossing in or out of rebel areas will have to present a passport....
Bone by bone, Ukraine identifies its dead
ZAPORIZHIA: Before the war, Oksana Biryukova’s lab helped investigators connect criminals to crime scenes. Now her equipment is buzzing around the clock trying to identify the charred remains of Ukrainian soldiers. The DNA laboratory in the southeastern city of Zaporizhia is the only one in the country charged with creating genetic profiles...
Second-hand clothes the austerity fashion in Eastern Europe
The global financial crisis hit hard in central and eastern Europe, but one industry has thrived: second-hand clothing stores. While in western Europe the squeeze on household finances prompted many consumers to turn to discount retailers like Primark, their peers further east – where wages are significantly lower – have shifted to the used...
